


A Good day in Paris

by Bronywn, crazyjc



Series: The Life and Times of Marinette Drake [5]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Janet Drake's A+ parenting at work folks, Marinette does not like, Marinette has Issues, Marinette is Little, Marinette is selectively mute now, Marinette was Martha Drake, Now goes by Marinette Cheng, Some Ableism, just read the series, pre-hawkmoth, warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:42:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24957049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bronywn/pseuds/Bronywn, https://archiveofourown.org/users/crazyjc/pseuds/crazyjc
Summary: Marinette has been living with Chloe in Paris and has (mostly) adjusted to her new schedule where she gets to go to school sometimes. This is set on one of her 'better' days with Kim, Alix and Max in her classes. Read the rest of the series beforehand, not a stand alone.
Series: The Life and Times of Marinette Drake [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1700302
Comments: 9
Kudos: 179





	A Good day in Paris

**Author's Note:**

> Hey so its been a bit since I last updated this because pandemic, puppy and a few things going on in family. Thanks for waiting. This is set pre-Miraculous with little Marinette and co.

Marinette was often unresponsive to her new name if anyone outside the Bourgeois and Butler Jean addressed her. Leeanne she was warming up to, slowly but surely.

Her classmates took her inattention as a sign to leave her to her own devices for the most part in her APs, with the exception of Max, who would ask her questions on occasion about how to organize and memorize history or for help understanding the more “flowery” aspects of reading.

In theory people were talking to Marinette, but more often than not, they addressed Leeanne the entire time when she physically went to school instead of operating online or with a private tutors. It was frustrating—Marinette was the one asking and answering, it was her thoughts and her words, not Leeanne’s. Max seemed to get this better than their teacher, Mme Auvray.

She was growing to prefer being in Special Ed study group—at least there she could send Max to Alix for history questions. And when things were too boring to keep studying (which was more often than not) she could trust Kim to challenge someone to something doable. If not, she could work out more possible escape and evasion possibilities for the room (or maybe somewhere else) and if she got the words out of her mouth, then one of the three kids or Leeanne would record it and add it to the “In Case of Emergency” Bible Kim enjoyed to practice reading. (and helping her re-write… she still doesn’t get what he means by most people aren’t that flexible or strong. Hysterical strength should not be under-estimated. It was a common enough phenomenon in Gotham, at least for cases that made the news. Paris is not Gotham though, and it shows with their complete lack of preparation for emergencies. She doesn’t like it. (too vulnerable, too soft, unsafe))

The last time she was there, Kim challenged her group to making the tallest paperclip tower—where you had to sneak each paperclip off of the teacher’s desk without Leeanne catching you grabbing them.

Max won because Leeanne watches him the least of their group. He was very proud of himself. Marinette was glad he found something to focus on that wasn’t asking her for help on books she never read nor did she want to read.

This time their play may have… escalated.

It was an outside study in her defense, and the teacher and Leeanne both turned their backs to discuss with one of the ‘normal’ class teachers about their shared students.

The three adults only had themselves to blame for what happened next.

“Truth or dare?” Alix asked Kim. Marinette thought that was for bigger kids.

“Dare!”

“I dare you to climb something big and back.”

“Kim, I don’t think this is a good idea…” Max tired to talk sense into him.

Marinette was busy watching this scene unfold, deciding she’d call someone over if Kim was having trouble with climbing a tree and wouldn’t listen to her advice. She is an expert tree climber after all. It helped her wasps. (she wonders if Tim or Mrs. Mac or Mr. Wayne or Jay Jay is taking care of them now. She hopes they are. They’re good wasps, and they don’t like being alone-alone, just like her.)

“Relax Max,” Kim placated with his hands up. “Its just to the roof. Its not the Eifel Tower. Plus, a dare is a dare, and my honor as the king of challenges and dares in on the line!”

Max sighed.

Alix grinned.

“And as the king of challenges, I need an opponent!”

“I’m the judge,” Alix stated before Kim could drag her into scaling the building—that wouldn’t mix well with her skates.

They all knew Max was too little to be considered—he is two years younger than Kim, and not very into sports.

Kim set his sights on Marinette with a grin. “Bet I can beat you up and back before you get to the first story, Pigtails.”

Marinette narrowed her eyes, mind whirling with how to scale the building quickly without getting caught. She may not be a _Drake-Drake_ , but she is still a **Drake**. And Drakes? Never lose.

“You’re on.”

Alix grinned, “First up the building and back wins. Ready? Set, go!”

Kim and Marinette sprinted to the building, Marinette quick to pull ahead and already with a clear plan in mind. She jumped to get to the ledge of the nearest window, one far above the ground to get a head start on Kim, who began from the bottom. She was quick to wedge her feet in between the bricks below and scoot over to the gutters, the braces as an additional handhold and the sides of window ledges to push herself up more ground. She managed to get to the top long before Kim was even a third up.

(Tim-Tam would be so proud! She’s just like Batgirl!)

Marinette ended up using the gutter drain to help herself down without getting in Kim’s way up.

She was above sabotaging amateurs not even close to half-way up.

She landed easily before grabbing a book to wait for Kim to come down. (She wondered if Jay-Jay would read this one? He likes classic literature and Jane Austen, and watching people ‘properly’ adapt Shakespeare—apparently ShakespeaRe-Told is his favorite).

Then Kim got caught, still trying to get up there by the looks of it.

Alix was busted too as the ‘judge’ with Max.

Marinette waited for their resentment (re: feel knives pointed at her) but she only got Knives off of Leeanne… pointed at Leeanne and the teachers. That… that was new.

“And who else was involved?”

Leeanne glanced at Marinette then, still reading her book. She couldn’t focus on it now that there was attention on her. (Bad attention. She’s not good enough. Not for her real name. Not until her voice does what its supposed to).

“It was just me and Alix,” Kim confessed, keeping Max behind him.

Marinette was glad she wouldn’t be in charge of calming down Max later—Leeanne would be busy with that. Hopefully too busy to work on reading Marinette’s tells... Drake or Cheng, when she wants her poker face on, its on. Leeanne hasn’t become fluent in them. (Yet.)

“Max wanted to stop us,” Alix added. “I shouldn’t have dared Kim to climb up that high.”

“And I should have said no.”

“And there was no one else involved, Mr. King of Challenges?” M. Favre crossed his arms.

“No one but me.”

“And me.” Alix stepped forward. “Max only didn’t call you over because we asked him not to.”

“We will discuss this with your father later Mlle. Kubdel, M. Kim,” M. Favre said as he took them away.

Leeanne came over then. Marinette dreaded the woman telling her parents about any suspicions.

“Marinette, were you really not with them?”

Marinette shook her head for no. She was not with them when they were caught, she was reading. Not a lie, a precise truth to a very openly worded question, a failure on Leeanne’s part, not hers.

“Okay. If you see someone, especially your friends,” Leeanne emphasized that word like Marinette had more than one friend, Chloe. Adrien is by proxy to Chloe, therefore not a _real_ friend. Those pick you because you’re you, not because you’re nearby. “—in danger, then you get me or an adult you trust to get them out of that dangerous situation. Am I understood?”

Marinette nodded. If Chloe or Adrien tried to scale something she’d be very, very scared for them They have no practice and that much climbing needed a lot of experience first! Batgirl and Robin get a pass because they have Batman looking out for them, and Batman is a good adult that helps people that aren’t hurting people, so he comes prepared with a grappling hook. (Bathook? A lot of his things are called bat-something…she wishes she could ask Tim Tam.)

“Good. Now that all that is over, do you want to go home for the rest of the day, or stay in your classes?”

Marinette saw it as an easy question to answer: she wanted to be closer to where Chloe was and ride home with her.

“Stay.” Marinette was glad her voice was working when she tried talking.

Leeanne looked pleased. (Maybe she can earn back being a Drake-Drake like Mother said? Maybe she can be enough, enough to get back to Tim Tam for good.)

Later, when Leeanne was going over something with one of the teachers (about looking at Marinette when talking to Marinette), Kim and Alix and Max moved to be near her.

She wanted to say thanks while Leeanne’s back was turned. She managed to mouth it this time, her voice deciding to retreat again. (Stress, worry and nerves, she remembered the specialist explaining to her, are fear responses. When she’s feeling any degree of fear, she is liable to lose the ability to talk. Drakes never show when they’re afraid—that’s loosing the upperhand. All Marinette has to do is get it under control. Then she can be a Drake again.

She doesn’t get why she’s afraid though, its just Kim “King of Challenges”, Alix “skates on inside because she can” and Max “only asks Marinette for help” she was talking to then. It doesn’t make sense. Those three are nothing to fear, especially when she’s thanking them for staying silent on her involvement.)

Kim weakly beamed at that. “No problem, what are friends for?”

Marinette didn’t know how to answer that. Friends are the family you choose. Her only friend was Chloe. Adrien is Chloe’s. She knows some people say friends and friendship like its water to them, especially in business meetings before they make moves against you. (Mother said to be wary of the smile-y and kind, they enjoy pretending to be help when they’re a giftwrapped curse with a shiny red ribbon on top.)

She still doesn’t know how to answer Kim, even long after she’s left school with Chloe, Butler Jean driving them and Adrien back to the hotel.

She… she might like to be friends with them, but they run in different circles, don’t they? And they are likely ladder climbers, aware she’s close to Chloe and is probably from a rich and famous family, a voice too much like Mother’s when she said Martha Antoinette Drake was faking her voice being gone. She doesn’t like that voice being in her.

**Author's Note:**

> So next installment i throw up on this route should involve Miraculous Ladybug events, possibly a variant of Origins with the new crew (and hopefully more of each character, may write from multiple POVs when i get there)


End file.
